Nautica Malibu Triathlon - Herbalife International - TriathlonOlympic

Pretty good swim for me...definitely worked hard...was breathing heavily throughout most of it. Conditions were perfect...almost no surf or chop. After 59F water at St George and Alcatraz, I don't think this was really that cold. (Actually, my wife told me at the end of the day that they were told at the finish line where she was volunteering that the "official" temp was "60.4.") Only wrinkle, really, was that it was so misty, that you couldn't use the usual landmarks on the bluffs north of the course for sighting, but using the buoys ended up working fine.

Passed quite a few people--but then I was starting in one of the later waves. Goal was to get out of the water in under 27 minutes...just missed by about 30 seconds.

Probably could have stopped wading and started swimming sooner.

15th of 56 in AG.

My rack was right by the swim exit. Suit came off left ankle like a breeze, but then hung up a bit on the right. Used a new pair of socks that went on just great. Chose to put my race belt & number on here to keep T2 as tight as possible.

Really long run to bike out, but I wore my lightweight MTB shoes, so I was able to move quicker than others.

Only thing that cost me any time was a few seconds of struggling with wetsuit on my ankle. When I saw my split on my watch, I was disappointed--was hoping for about 3:00 or less--but I wound up in about the top 1/4 of my AG for this, so can't complain. This is one of the physically longest TAs out there, so it takes some time to get from one end to the other, esp. with a bike.

Had a really good practice run on the course a few weeks ago where I hit right at 20 mph. Also did the sprint last year at a hair over 20. So I wanted to shoot for 21 mph, something I've never managed in a race, even on a flat course (which this isn't, really...lots of rollers through most of it).

Got going and felt really good. Got out on PCH and made conscious effort to keep speed near or above 21 on the initial flat section.

Handled most of the rollers northbound easily enough. Spun up everything...never got out of the saddle once...did get into my easiest gear a couple times.

Had one gel taped to top tube...took that at the turnaround. Drank from bike bottle (Powerade Zero today...something new) three times.

Approaching and after the turnaround there are no-passing zones (coned-off bike lane is narrow there with open traffic to the left). Wasn't aware of that going into the race and not too happy about it. After the turnaround I was stuck for at least a half mile behind two guys going much slower than I wanted. At one point, there hadn't been a "no passing zone" sign for at least 400m, so I thought I could pass...announced "on your left" and the guy in front of me chewed me out..."No passing zone!"...I pointed out there hadn't been a sign for quite awhile and told him to chill out...and went back to biding my time. Once we could pass, I blew past him and never saw him again. Definitely cost me significant time.

Hammered the final flat section and had a shot at 21 mph avg, but came up short. Still the highest average speed I've had in a race yet (which shows what a sucky cyclist I am...at least in comparison to my running).

Nothing. Biggest setback was getting stuck behind the much slower riders in the no-passing zone.

4th of 56 in AG.

Pretty close to perfect: Threw bike on rack. Helmet off. Switch shoes. Grab hat. Haul ass down the carpet runner to the other end of the endless transition area.

Nothing. Again, I was disappointed that I didn't hit my goal of 1:15, but given I was 4th fastest in my AG, I don't think that was a realistic goal.

Got out through the very narrow roped off chute at the beginning of the course without getting stuck behind anyone. Felt great and was running right around 7:05 per my Garmin.

Totally uneventful race. Knew the course very well and kept my cadence high and my gait relaxed. Passed scores of people...having started back of the middle of the field and having only a mediocre-ish swim and bike, there were a lot of them to pass. Kept looking for guys in my AG, but only passed one early on that I noticed...never saw any coming back from the turnarounds of the three out-and-back legs. Only passed by one person the whole time...a much younger guy who got me with about a mile to go...almost caught him by the finish, actually.

Felt solid all throughout...finished with a nice mile well under 7:00. Just off my standalone 10K PR pace...time was way under my 10K PR, but the course was very short according to my Garmin...about 1/8 of a mile short, in fact. Still my fastest pace for an Oly tri 10K, though.

Race announcer (Konrad R.) is someone Liz and I know pretty well from when he worked at Disney and he gave me a huge shoutout over the PA when I finished...almost made me laugh, he went on about me and her for so long.

Nothing. Finished 3rd in my AG for the run out of almost 60 guys...coming after my 1st on the run in my Alcatraz AG, I'm feeling really good about Long Beach Marathon and a possible BQ in October.

Walked around. Ate a bunch of Clif product they were giving away.

Liz was inputting finisher bib numbers at the finish line (backup for the chip timing system). Said "Hi" to her and went off to collect my fundraising premium (a polo shirt)...decided to get a small size to give to Liz, because I've got two already and she gave her premium (a jacket) away to someone else.


Nothing, really. Came really close to all my goals...lost no more than a minute vs. goal in any discipline--including T1 for a change. If I had the history with swimming and cycling that I do with running, I'd be pretty damn good...but I don't and so I'm just okay. But very happy with this...no injuries and no particularly disappointing splits.


One of the longest established and high profile events in the U.S. With the sprint (the "Classic") and its celebrity division filling up earlier every year, the Oly is only going to be more and more popular. This is one of the best opportunities to get a taste of an Ironman type event at the Oly & sprint distance. Major pros in the Oly every year--this year Matty Reed and Julie Dibens were the winners--so it really has a "big time" flavor.